Meet Sam Ballard
Meet Sam Ballard, the once cheerful rugby player whose life changed after a fateful party that he attended in the year 2010. Sam was asked to swallow a garden slug as a dare. He completed the dare by doing the same, but this party-stunt cost him much more than he thought!
The Rat Lungworm
Soon after, he fell ill, the doctors told him that he had been infected with rat lungworm. This worm is usually found in rats, but even snails and other slugs can be infected with it when they eat rodent droppings.
The Prolonged Coma
However, it is very rare that the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis causes an infection in the brain. But, tragically Sam contracted eosinophilic meningoencephalitis and lapsed into a coma for 420 days. He was released from the hospital in a wheelchair about three years after he had been admitted. It changed his life completely
The Lifeafter
The life is not at all easy for him as he has not completely recovered from the illness. He is tube-fed, suffers seizures and also had to struggle to control the body temperature. His mother, Katie had applied for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) when Sam became eligible for a $492,000 package in 2016, but in 2017 it was slashed to $135,000 after a review which made the family go in debt to provide for around-the-clock medical care facility to Sam
What is Rat Lungworm Disease?
Now, his mother is doing everything she can to raise the funds to make both ends meet! It's indeed sad how one petty mistake can cost us so much! All you can do is to be informed about such diseases and keep yourself away from them
Know what is Rat lungworm disease in this video
